Writer Jerzy Kosinski put this foreign variation on the U. S. name map.

Cheever has a nice, cheery sound, literary ties to novelist and short writer John Cheever and also, sideways, to the Edward Arlington Robinson narrative poem "Miniver Cheevy," as well as a subliminal association with the desirable word achiever: all strong pluses.

Friendly-sounding name with big "Sweeney Todd" downside.

Might be carrying things too far -- little little girl? -- though could freshen up this favorite.

The well-loved, sassy and headstrong fairy Tinker Bell is one of the most recognizable Disney characters. Her name, however, is not the most useable for a baby in real life. Read more about Tinker Bell and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.

Pronounced GHEED, this surname of Nobel Prizewinning novelist Andre could make a smooth, sleek middle name choice.

An admirable quality to impart; Pleasant was used by Charles Dickens in Our Mutual Friend and in modern times is known via American Girl dolls creator Pleasant Rowland.

For fans of the (female) author A. S. ; makes an interesting alternative to Wyatt or the hotelish Hyatt.

Feather, though it was used for a character in a Walter Mosley novel, seems too light and fluttery for a real-life girl.

Much fresher and more energetic than Dominique.

An archipelago near the center of the Mediterranean, the name derives from the Greek word for honey. Malta has been heard as a girl’s name in the past and was used as a character name by both Dickens and Murakami.

A British surname that was used only for males until Mrs. Norman Mailer, Norris Church (born Barbara), came under the public eye.

The mixed-race heroine of one of Gertrude Stein's Three Lives searches for knowledge and power.

Remarkable Pettibone was a self-important housekeeper in James Fenimore Cooper's The Pioneers. Such names were not uncommon in early America, with such choices as Remember and Experience showing up in the records along with Puritan virtue names such as Chastity and Patience.